Nelson Cruz

BALTIMORE – I finally made it back to Camden Yards for the first time since Opening Day. It's been a busy spring filled mostly with college lacrosse so it was a nice change of pace to take in a Major League Baseball game. While sitting in the press box watching the Orioles fall to the Seattle Mariners, I had a few random thoughts on a variety of issues surrounding the home team. With Nelson Cruz in town and hitting a three-run homer in Tuesday's series opener, there is some understandable angst among Orioles fans over the decision to allow the slugger to leave through free agency. Executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette explained this week the...

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WEST DIVISION
1. Seattle Mariners
2014: 87-75, third place. Last year in playoffs: 2001.
The addition of MLB home run leader Nelson Cruz was meant to turn around an offense that was second-worst in the league (.244/.300/.376) in 2014. But Safeco...

EAST DIVISION
Baltimore Orioles
2014: 96-66, first place. Last year in playoffs: 2014.
Baltimore led baseball in home runs last season with little help from Manny Machado and Matt Wieters. If both play this season — Wieters will open on the DL — that...

Baseball's annual rumor fest is upon us. The winter meetings start Monday in San Diego, and what traditionally deteriorates into a week of overblown analysis of overblown hype might actually amount to something big.
One reason: teams looking for...

After the Baltimore Orioles' 2-1 loss to the Kansas City Royals in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series on Wednesday, outfielder Nelson Cruz realized he might have played his final game with the Orioles.
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Nelson Cruz, Buck Showalter and an unheralded bunch from Baltimore swept aside Detroit's Cy Young winners.
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Down by three runs in the eighth inning, the Baltimore Orioles had every reason to believe they could rally against the Tigers.
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